A blowout is the uncontrolled flow of hydrocarbons from a borehole, which may occur during the drilling, production, or completion phases of well construction. The blowout hydrocarbons can include oil, gas, water, or the like. When determining the cumulative discharge volume of the blowout, predicting the degree of environmental impact, and planning a dynamic kill operation, it is useful to have knowledge of the rate at which the hydrocarbons are being expelled from the wellbore.
Conventional methods for determining the blowout rate of the hydrocarbons include estimating the flow using previous experience, for example, based on the height of the flame if the released hydrocarbons are ignited, or based on estimated reservoir parameters. Other conventional methods require a choke and a gauge upstream of the flow to estimate the blowout rate. These conventional methods for estimating the blowout rate can be unreliable.